Thursday, September 10, 2009

A Couple of F-35 Screenshots

Above are two in game screenshots of the F-35A Lighting II project I am working on. As you can see, the external model is almost complete - there is some minor "cleaning" to be done here and there, but it is done. While it is an highly detailed model, the graphics performance is not bad - in fact it is slightly better than the Tomcat. At present, the model depicts the AA-1 development bird, meaning the first "F-35" (and not X-35) even built. At the moment I am writing it is also the only CTOL bird actually flying, as all the other prototypes undergoing flight test are F-35Bs (VTOL). The only major "artistic licence" so far is that the if you open the weapon bays, you can see two AIM-120 and two JDAMs - but all the pictures I've seen so far of the AA-1 were showing mock ordnance.

The design of the real AA-1 has been subject to major weight-saving oriented improvements, so that the AF-1 and following CTOL prototypes will have a number of design changes. While, at present, AF-1 has been "rolled out" several months ago there are not many pictures of it on the internet, but its first flight should not be too distant... so that more information will be available - the plan being, of course, add the AF-1 to the package (or a "production" model). A third model would be a production model with external loads (there are pictures of a BF bird on the gorund with a pretty impressive loadout).

At present, my project will be focused on the F-35A - and my current target is complete the AA-1 model. While the F-35B (VTOL) is an extremely interesting machine, I am not currently working on it - mainly because IRIS is working on such model and because I prefer quality to quantity - considering I am a one-man team it is mandatory to keep the size of the project reasonable.

While it may not be evident at first sight, the F-35B fuselage is much different from the F-35A.Nose, wings and tails are almost identical - but almost everything else is different.

On the opposite, the CATOBAR F-35C fuselage geometry is close to the F-35A (main differences being the modifications to the nose gear, refuel probe and tail hook) but the wing is completely different: it is much bigger, and has a folding mechanism and spoilers.

So, making the -B and -C models starting from what I have would be surely doable - but it would require some major redesign of several areas so, for the moment, I am sticking to the F-35A - and I will do my best to achieve a good quality level on that before making any further step.

Thank you for the update and am looking forward to this model, very much so. I'll be getting your F-35 for sure; and, if you want to make three versions and charge for them seperately, that's fine with me. Like you, I prefer quality and functionality over quantity and "time-saving" low-authenticity shortcuts.

Also, are you still "Fixing" or making modifications to the F-14D v1.07? I will send you an email with a few "issues" later. If you can fix them when you have the time, I would much appreciate it.

This weekend I'll make that (Cessna Grand Caravan with cables stopping and catapults (or Acceleration)) for you and post it HERE: [url=http://x-plane.org/home/JamesChams/AI_Carrier_Addon_Aircraft_Configurations.txt]Aircraft AI Carrier Configurations v1.5 by James F. Chams[/url]

As for further F-14 fix/updates there are two "problems": the first, and main, is finding the time to do them. The second is that, apparently, some bugs (or unknown limitations) of the SDK seem to create major issues on complex model in which some functions do not work for no apparent reason (e.g. the INOP MFD buttons: I am sure the code is 100% correct)

I already have a pretty long list of fixes/improvements... but I'll surely appreciate any further input.

In short - at present I am 100% committed to deliver the F-35. Then I'll probably make a round of fixes to the Tomcat.

This is a new version of the F-35 project that improves the freeware version in several areas including new visual models, additional avionics functionalities (with TFLIR, DAS and ASR imaging support) and new flight dynamics.

FREEWARE DOWNLOADS

This section provides download links for the latest official releases of my freeware projects. Normally, these files are also uploaded to avsim.com and flightsim.com, although there is no guarantee that any external website has the latest version.

IF YOU WISH TO DONATE...

In November 2015, IndiaFoxtEcho Visual Simulation has been officially registered as a company and will venture into the production of payware add-ons.
This does not mean that freeware will be abandoned, but rather will provide the means for funding more complex (and hopefully better) addons. The fist two payware projects will be the new F-35 for Prepar3d v.25 and the Military Avatars Package.
Still, if you like my freeware projects and wish to make a donation here is a Paypal "donate" button.